THE MEANING OF LIFE, WITH GAY BYRNE – Sunday 25 October at 10.30pm on RTÉ One
Born to a farming family in rural Kerry, Sr Stanislaus Kennedy joined the Daughters of Charity as a young woman, not for religious reasons, but because she wanted to work for the poor. In a time when there were no courses in ‘social work’ in Irish Universities, this was her only choice. ‘In a way she was ‘lured’ into a religious life’, she says. "I joined for one reason and stayed for another".
She is enormously happy in her the religious life and deep in her faith. Being a nun gave her a chance to do things she could never have done as a lay woman in those times. She was one of a team who virtually created the social services of Kilkenny, where she worked for more than 20 years.
Hers was a radical voice which dared to say things being advocated by post Vatican II liberation theologians in the 1970s but considered unacceptable in the Irish Church. She was ‘silenced’ for a time as a young nun.
She continues her radical voice to this day. She favours women priests and married priests. She advocated for a ‘Yes’ vote in the recent same sex marriage referendum and believes the church has lost its focus. ‘There is no future for a clerical church" she says.
She still believes a great deal needs to be done to help the poor and that society must work to create a fairer world.
Watch the Meaning of Life here